


Written in Ink

by Readomon



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, SO GAY, SuperCorp, Tattoos, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, im gay, send help
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-17
Updated: 2017-06-17
Packaged: 2018-11-15 01:48:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11220729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Readomon/pseuds/Readomon
Summary: Imagine if you had a tattoo of the names of every single person you have ever lost. How many would you have?





	Written in Ink

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I'm glad you decided to stop by for another one-shot! This one is okay. I mean it isn't my best work, but I like how it turned out. Any constructive criticism is great! Enjoy!

     The tattoos. They start from between the shoulder blades, and start spiraling out from there. The more you had, the more broken you would seem. Imagine having the names of all the people you have lost on your body forever.

 

     Lena had acquired her first one when she was four years old. She had just lost her mother. When she saw it between her shoulder blades, she cried. It said ‘mother’ with beautiful spirals and sans letters. It was theorized that the tattoos end up the way you viewed the person before they were lost. She still would look at it in the mirror sometimes, staring at the beautiful word. It had been joined with a few others along the way. Another said ‘Lionel Luthor’ in big block letters. She never knew what the block letters said about him. A very recent one showed ‘Jack Spheer.’ It was too soon, but the tattoos show up immediately. She knew her losses were nothing compared to some others. One of those people she never expected had more than one could count.

 

     She had only been dating Kara for a few weeks, and she already practically lived at her apartment. Sometimes she would wake up to Kara already making breakfast, other times she would get up before her to make it. Lena knew where most of the stuff in Kara’s apartment was. On rare occasions, she had to ask. She heard movement in the other room. Kara was finally up. She could hear the blonde shuffling around in her room, probably looking for some day clothes. She puffed out a breath of frustration.

_Where did the coffee go? It was full the last time I was here._

She knew it was a bit petty to get frustrated over coffee, but Kara and she would be a pissed off duo without it. She walked towards the bedroom. “Kara, where is the-” she stopped in the doorway. She was now looking at her girlfriend’s bare back. Sure, they have been dating for a bit, but they never got that far. She wanted to cover her eyes to respect Kara’s privacy, but she couldn't tear her eyes away. Kara’s back was covered in ink.

 

     Lena stood there, gaping. Upon further inspection, the first tattoo was a red sphere in the center of her back. She wanted to ask about it, but before she could say anything Kara slipped on a shirt and turned around. She jumped a little at the sight of Lena.

“Lena! Hi. Um, how long were you standing there?”

Lena was still standing there with her jaw to the floor. “I- um- I just-“ Lena stumbled over her words. She looked at Kara with sad eyes. “How?”

 

* * *

 

 

     Kara was immensely confused. How what?

_Oh. My back._

She lifted the front of her shirt a bit, revealing the tattoos that started to spread to her abdomen. She dropped her shirt and looked at Lena. _This is going to be hard to explain._ She thought. Why did she have this many tattoos you could barely make out. There were millions on her back. Almost all of them from Krypton. The ball of red was what appeared first. Krypton.

“I am a survivor.” That was all she could manage to say. She knew there was about to be a barrage of questions, and she braced herself for it. But instead she was enveloped in a hug.

“I am so sorry for whatever happened to you.”

Kara stood there in surprise.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but if you ever need someone to talk to, I am here.”

She was still speechless. She looked down at the woman in her arms.

“Lena, it’s fine, really. A story for another day.” She hugged Lena back. “So, what’s for breakfast?”

  

* * *

 

 

     _Ugh. I can’t stand this._ Lena thought. She was supposed to be entering some things into the L-Corp database, but instead she can’t get the picture of Kara’s tattoos out of her head. The way her entire back was covered with scribbles of other people’s names. She was surprised at the detail. Most of the names were very small, but there were a few that were larger, probably from people she was closer to. She remembered one that started wrapping around her abdomen. ‘Astra.’ That is an interesting name. Then again the other ones were, too. ‘Zor-el,’ Alura,’ Jor-el,’ ect. There was a relatively normal name running up her side. Jeremiah. Her foster father. How could someone so bright and cheery lose so many people. There was a knock on her balcony window. She jumped(she would never admit to it) and turned to see a familiar blonde in her red and blue attire. Lena smiled as she opened the door.

“Supergirl, what a surprise.” Lena said. “Is there something you need?”

The superhero inspected her office. “Nothing in particular.”

Lena raised an eyebrow. “So, why are you here?”

The hero turned. “That is a good question. One that I don't know how to answer.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“So you're, what, just here?” Lena mock-gasped. “You don't have a crush on me, do you?”

The hero turned red. “What?!”

Lena laughed. “While it is tempting, I have a girlfriend.”

The superhero flashed a small smile. “You know, Kara really cares for you.”

Lena nodded. “That I do.”

Lena spun her chair to face the balcony. She had a sudden thought and spun back.

“How many do you have?” She asked.

“What?”

“You know, tattoos. I can only imagine it’s a lot, losing a planet.” Her thoughts flickered to the red sphere on Kara’s back.

The hero sat on the couch. “Enough. I don't need anymore. But I know I will get them. So many that they have filled my back. I have no more room for loss.”

Lena narrowed her eyes. “You know, you and Kara seem close. I have a question.”

The hero raised her eyebrow. “What do you want to know?”

“What are Kara’s tattoos from?”

The hero’s face went blank. “You know, I think I hear a siren. I’ll see you around.”

Lena frowned as she watched the hero take off from her balcony. She turned back to her work, thoughts racing. _Why will no one tell me?_

 

* * *

 

 

     Kara let out relieved sigh. That was way to close. She loved Lena, she really did, but she could’t tell her. Not yet, at least. One thing that she didn’t quite understand was how Lena hadn’t put it together yet. Or maybe she has, but she refuses to believe it. Refuses to believe that her girlfriend kept something so big from her. Kara was jerked out of her thoughts when she almost flew into the DEO building. She landed lightly on the balcony of the building. It was noon, so the place was flooded with agents running around doing various things. A certain auburn-haired agent caught her eye.

“Alex!” She bounced over to her sister.

Alex looked at her with a concerned expression. “What’s wrong?”

Kara tilted her head. “Wrong? Who said anything’s wrong. I certainly didn’t.” She spewed out words, attempting to convince her sister.

There was a deep sigh let out by Alex. “Crinkle.”

Her hand flew to her forehead. Sure enough, in between her eyebrows there was folds in her skin. She sighed. “I seriously need to figure out how to get rid of that.”

Alex started walking towards the control room. Kara bounced after her sister. She stopped dead in her tracks when Alex turned around.

“Kara. What happened.”

She looked down at her boots. “My tattoos.”

“Yeah, what about them?”

Kara really didn’t know how Alex would react. She sucked in a deep breath. “Lena saw them when I was changing, and she wants to know where I got them all, but I can’t tell her and it is killing me.” She poured the sentence out with one breath.

Alex’s eyebrows shot up. “Kara! She will put it together soon. Gosh, this is bad. She will know, and-”

“Hey! And it’s bad for me too! If she finds out that I am Supergirl before I can tell her myself, I don’t know how she will take it!” Kara felt herself start to pace. “I mean, I don’t know if she will understand or if she thinks I didn’t tell her because she is a Luthor. Or even that I just didn’t trust her enough!”

“Kara!” Alex grabbed her shoulders. “Kara, I understand how much you love her, but you need to pull it together. We need to focus on-” Alex was cut off be her cell phone ringing.

 

* * *

 

 

     This was quite the predicament. Alex loved her sister, but this was a big deal. Lena was a brilliant woman, how she had not put it together yet was a mystery to her. She looked at her phone. She was taken aback when she saw the caller ID.

Kara noticed her reaction. “What’s wrong?”

She shook her head. “Uh. Nothing. I will be right back.”

She took to the nearest private hallway she could. The picture on the front of the phone was still shaking, waiting for Alex to answer it. She took a deep breath and pressed the ‘accept call’ button.

“Hello.” She heard small amounts of noises on the other line. “Lena?”

“Ah! I thought you weren't going to pick up at first because I know how you don’t like me and all of that.” Lena said quickly.

Alex was confused. Why was Lena calling her and not Kara? It’s not because Kara is in trouble because she was just talking to her. “What do you need?”

The girl on the other side was silent. There was something that sounded like a sigh. “Can you meet up?”

Alex actually took a step backwards, so was so surprised. “What?”

“I need to talk to you… About Kara.” Lena sounded unsure now.

She brought her hand to her face and wiped her eyes. “What about her?”

“I- um… Just, can you meet me at L-Corp as soon as you can. I’ll have Jess let you in as soon as you get here.” Lena said quickly.

“Wait, Lena-” It was too late. The phone call was over.

_Great._

 

* * *

 

 

     Lena wasn’t sure if Alex would show up or not. Hell, even if she did show up, what would she say?

_Hey, Alex! I accidentally saw your sister’s naked back when she she was changing and saw all of her tattoos. Neither Kara nor Supergirl will tell me. You are clearly going to tell me._

Lena wiped off her face, which had grown slightly damp from sweat. She heard the door open.

Alex basically stormed into the room. “What is it that is so important that you couldn't ask me over the phone?” Alex’s face turned slack. “You’re not going to ask me for my blessing, are you? You two have been dating for a few weeks!”

Lena put hands up. “No! No, no, no.”

Alex looked relieved. “Oh. Ok, good.  What is it, then?”

She took a deep breath. _Here goes._ “IwaswonderingwhatKarastattooswerebutshedidnttellmeandneitherdidsupergirlandIwaswonderingifyouknewanything.”

Alex was gaping at her. Her gape turned into a laugh. “Are you serious?”

Lena wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved or confused. She decided on both. “Yes…?”

She watched as Alex covered her mouth to try and stop her laughing. It failed. She eventually collected herself. “You and Kara. You two are a handful.”

“What do you mean?” She sat down in her chair, trying to keep herself doing anything involuntary.

“You and Kara are both worried about the same thing. Why don’t you two just talk to each other? I don’t need to be the middle man in everything that happens between the two of you.” Alex said with a grin.

“Wait, so Kara is worried about what, exactly?” Lena lowered her eyebrows in confusion.

“Talk to her.” Alex snorted and headed towards the door of her office. “Did you know you guys get the same kind of crinkle in between your eyebrows?” And with that, she was gone.

_Crinkle?_

 

     She let herself into Kara’s apartment with the shiny key she had been given before they were dating. Lena let her purse slide down her arm and fall gently to the floor. The apartment was surprisingly clean, which was an impressive feat when Kara ate so many cartons of potstickers at least once a week. That left her with nothing to do but sit there and wait for Kara to return from Catco. She plopped down on Kara’s couch and let her eyes wander around the apartment. She knew this place like the back of her hand. Her eyes settled on the photograph on one of the side tables. She smiled at the picture. It was of her and Kara on their first date. A selfie they had taken, Kara had ice cream on her nose and she had chocolate on the corners of her mouth. It made her laugh every time she saw it. There was a noise to her right. She turned, expecting to see Kara at the door, but instead there was a red and blue hero standing next to an open window. It didn’t seem like she was noticed. She watched as the protector of National City hummed and walked over to _Kara’s_ kitchen. The hero finally turned around.

The caped girl jumped. “Lena!”

She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out.

“Uh- Um. I can explain, I swear!” The girl stumbled over her words.

Lena held up her hand. “It’s fine. You are Kara’s friend too. I shouldn’t be surprised that you would come here too.”

That just caused the hero to look confused. “Kara’s… friend…” At that point the caped girl just face palmed. “Lena, I love you, but this is probably one of the more… How do I put this. Oblivious. Yes. One of your more oblivious moments.”

She was still caught up on the first few words. “You… love me?”

“Oh, for Rao’s sake, Lena!” There was a rush of wind and there was no longer a red and blue dressed hero in front of her. It was Kara. “Do you get it now? Before you say anything, I am so sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

It was her turn to face palm. “I am such an idiot. It makes so much sense. There were so many signs! Like the ‘I flew here on a bus,’ the ability to save me when I was talking to you, and the forehead scar. The tattoos are what should’ve really tied it together!”

Kara tilted her head. “You aren't mad?”

She let out an exasperated sigh. “I am mad. Just at myself. I completely understand you not being able to tell me, your reasons are your own. How could I have missed that? That is kinda big! You miss the fact your girlfriend is the protector of this city…” She scoffed. “And they call me a genius.”

Kara sat next to her. “That’s because you are a genius.”

“An oblivious genius…”

“Yeah, but you are my oblivious genius.” She was pulled into a hug.

She felt warm wrapped in Kara’s arms. She felt safe. “Yeah, I am your oblivious genius.”

Kara kissed her on the forehead. “I was anticipating so many different reactions, I didn’t account for this one.”

Lena laughed into her girlfriend’s arms. “Well, I am glad I know. Now you don’t have to make ridiculous excuses like ‘flying on a bus.’”

“Says the person who totally fell for it.” Kara nuzzled her face into her hair.

She sat there with Kara for a minute until she pulled away from the hug. “Wait, you love me?”

Kara’s face went from confusion to a soft, caring state. “Of course I do.”

Lena almost felt like crying. She knew that it was only three words, but they mean so much coming from Kara. She put her hands on Kara’s cheeks and rubbed her thumbs under her eyes. “I love you too.” She whispered as she pulled Kara in for a kiss. They both fell into the rhythm of the kiss as it got deeper and deeper.

 

* * *

 

 

Kara kissed Lena like it was the last one they were ever going to share. It probably was going in a different direction until…

“Oh, God!”

Kara and Lena shot up and looked towards the door. _How did I not hear her come in?_

“Alex?” Kara stood up.

“I see you guys made up.” Alex said, rubbing her eyes. “Kara, put a sock on the door or something next time.”

She felt her face light up red. She shook her head to try and regain control of her emotions. “Alex, why are you here?”

Alex was still partially turned away from them. “I came to confirm our plans for sister’s night, and I got an answer right away. We can reschedule.”

Kara closed her eyes. “Alex. I swear. You need to learn how to knock.”

Her sister finally turned to face her and Lena. “You never had a problem with it before.” Her face turned to one of amusement.

“Yeah! That was before…” She trailed off.

Alex smirked at her. “Before…?”

“By the way, Lena knows I'm Supergirl.” Kara burst out randomly.

Alex’s smirk turned into a gape. “Kara! Ok, you know what. I think this one is on me. I basically told you two to talk about it. I will bring by NDAs later. And next time I will knock.”

She saw the quick glance Alex shot Lena before she left.

Kara turned to face a slightly flustered Lena. “You talked to Alex, too?”

Lena nodded at her. “Yes. I actually asked her about your tattoos. She just told me to talk to you.”

“You wanted to know about my tattoos?” Kara tilted her head.

“Yes, but I didn’t want to ask you. Well, I guess I did, didn’t I , Supergirl.” Lena grinned at her.

“Mmmm.” She hummed. “I guess so. Well, my tattoos are pretty simple really.” Kara sat down, motioning for Lena to do the same. “The red ball in the middle is my home planet, Krypton. The rest of the names are all of my people.”

Lena’s eyes widened. “All of them?”

She nodded. “Most of them, at least. The larger names were my family. Alura was my mother. Zor-el is my father. Astra is my aunt who Alex killed. Another story for another time. Jor-el is my uncle. He is Kal-el, Superman's father. And you know Jeremiah. I don’t know what is going to happen to that one.”

“What do you mean?” Lena asked with a slight lilt at the end, indicating delicateness.

“We think he is alive.” Kara replied. “Anyway, that is the story of my tattoos.”

“Well, _Supergirl_. Thank you for telling me.” Lena playfully remarked.

She pulled Lena closer to her. “Did I tell you that I love you?”

“I think so, but my memory isn’t great.” Lena said with mischief in her eyes.

They fell onto the couch in a bout of laughter and small kisses.

Lena smiled at her. “Well, I love you too.”

 

* * *

 

 

     Lena loved how she got to trace Kara’s tattoos in the morning. The traced a circle around the ball of red and traced a path in the minimal blank spaces between the names. Kara would sometimes wake up in a fit of laughter because she felt like she was being tickled. Other times she would fall into a deeper sleep. It was just a trance Lena would fall into. Sometimes she would try reading some of them. ‘ _The names made of stars’_ is what she liked to call them. Whenever Kara had a night terror, she would wrap her arms around her and run her fingers along the names on her abdomen, telling her how everything was fine and everyone was safe.

 

The tattoos don't define you. They remind you everyday of something important. What that is, is for you to decide.

**Author's Note:**

> You made it! I hope you enjoyed it! If you have any prompts you want to see written, throw them my way!  
> [Come and bug me on Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/readomon)  
> Or don't.  
> That's cool too.


End file.
